Review: The Boys, "One Shots" | Season 5, Episode 5
When does fun become a distraction?
Who could possibly deny all the fun to be had in this episode? Even if you're not a Supernatural fan, there's no denying the playful vibe and meta silliness derived from an onscreen reunion of Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, and Misha Collins. And that's before we even get into the cameo-happy absurdity of the confrontation with uncredited guest stars Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Will Forte, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Craig Robinson, playing themselves! A bunch of funny famous boys, being goofy on The Boys! Did we mention the entire act shown from the point of view of the dog? This is, in theory, a recipe for undeniable entertainment. So forgive me for being the buzzkill in the room:
What exactly are we doing here, The Boys?
By the time the show stops dead in its tracks and gives itself over to several minutes of self-skewering Hollywood-is-ridiculous bits from the aforementioned guests, it was already clear that "One Shots" was doing some tap-dancing to distract from the fact that this season is now having real trouble moving the plot forward. After a gangbusters pair of opening episodes, the show has drilled down into some of its knottiest thematic and philosophical elements, which, sure, are great in and of themselves (see last episode in particular)—but once you step back, it's starting to feel like they don't have enough substance for eight episodes. Hence, the second episode in a row to feel like it's treading water when it comes to the big picture. Once a season, having an episode that more or less hits pause to dig deeper into central themes and/or characterization is a great way to inject depth; even the mess of Game Of Thrones' final season gave us "A Night Of The Seven Kingdoms," one of the series' best.
But this week's installment follows another episode that already pumped the brakes, and the fact that it resorts to not one, but multiple stunt-esque narrative tricks and surprise guests does little more than highlight the lack of forward momentum. We ended last episode with everybody looking for V1 and suspecting the mysterious Bombsight is in possession of it. We end this episode...with everyone looking for V1 and suspecting the mysterious Bombsight is in possession of it. Almost nothing has changed—save for another death that should feel more significant than it does.
